1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an apparatus for spacing and aligning triangular-like-shaped pieces of food dough. The apparatus can align the pieces of the food dough in one direction by rotating them at 90 degrees in a clockwise and a counterclockwise direction and by alternately repeating such motions, which pieces are cut and separated from a sheet of food dough and have a triangular-like shape, such as a piece of food dough for a croissant. Particularly, it relates to an apparatus for spacing and aligning triangular-like-shaped pieces of food dough that can rotate them in the alternate directions at a high speed.
2. Background of the Invention
It is well known that pieces of food dough for croissants are made by cutting a sheet of food dough into pieces having isosceles-triangular-like shapes and separating them, which sheet is carried by a belt conveyor. When the pieces of the food dough for croissants are cut and separated from the sheet of the food dough, the sheet is cut so that a column of pieces of food dough is arranged at the direction perpendicular to the direction for carrying the sheet of the food dough. In this case, the direction of the pieces of the food dough of each column is the same. However, the pieces of the food dough of the adjacent column are oriented in the opposite direction.
Namely, as shown in FIG. 1, when one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 of odd-numbered columns (columns “A” shown in FIG. 1) is oriented toward one direction (direction “+Y” shown in FIG. 1) perpendicular to the direction for carrying the sheet of the food dough, one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 of even-numbered columns (columns “B” shown in FIG. 1) is oriented toward the other direction (direction “−Y” shown in FIG. 1) perpendicular to the direction for carrying the sheet of the food dough. Thus, in order to arrange the pieces 9 so that one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 is oriented toward the upstream side (direction “+X” shown in FIG. 1) of the direction for carrying the sheet of the food dough, it is necessary to rotate the pieces 9 of the odd-numbered column (column “A”) at 90 degrees clockwise as viewed from above, and to rotate the pieces 9 of the even-numbered column (column “B”) at 90 degrees counterclockwise as viewed from above. (See Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3.)    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3009132    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2007-215478    Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,348
Below, a conventional apparatus of the prior art is explained.
The conventional apparatus for spacing and aligning pieces of food dough of Patent Document 1 has the constitution shown in FIGS. 1-3. Since the conventional apparatus is well known by one skilled in the art, only the main parts of the apparatus are explained here.
The apparatus 1 for spacing and aligning pieces of food dough comprises an upstream conveyor 3 and a downstream conveyor 5, wherein the speed of the conveyance of the downstream conveyor 5 is greater than that of the upstream conveyor 3, and wherein the upstream conveyor 3 and the downstream conveyor 5 are arranged in a line along the direction for carrying the sheet 7 of the food dough (direction “X” shown in FIG. 1). The upstream conveyor 3 carries the sheet 7 of the food dough to the downstream conveyor 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet 7 of the food dough is cut in pieces 9 having isosceles-triangular-like shapes, which pieces 9 are arranged with a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows and laid side-by-side, while the sheet 7 is carried by the upstream conveyor 3.
When each column of the pieces 9 (columns “A” and “B” shown in FIG. 1) is transferred from the upstream conveyor 3 to the downstream conveyor 5, since the speed of the downstream conveyor 5 is greater than that of the upstream conveyor 3, the pieces 9 of the columns “A” and those of the columns “B” are separated in the direction for carrying the pieces 9 so as to keep a predetermined distance between the pieces 9 of the columns “A” and those of the columns “B.” The pieces 9 of the column that is transferred onto the downstream conveyor 5 are rearranged so that, for example, odd-numbered rows (rows “C” shown in FIG. 1) of the pieces 9 go ahead of even-numbered rows (rows “D” shown in FIG. 1) of the pieces 9. Namely, the odd-numbered rows (rows “C”) of the pieces 9 and the even-numbered rows (rows “D”) of the pieces 9 are rearranged in a staggered pattern. Further, simultaneously, the pieces 9 of the odd-numbered rows and the even-numbered rows are rotated at 90 degrees so that one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 is oriented toward the upstream side (direction “+X” shown in FIG. 1) of the direction for carrying the pieces 9.
Incidentally, it is obvious from FIG. 1 that since the pieces 9 in columns “A” and those in columns “B,” which are laid side-by-side, are oriented toward the opposite direction from each other, if the pieces 9 in columns “A” are rotated at 90 degrees clockwise as viewed from above, the pieces 9 in columns “B” need to be rotated at 90 degrees counterclockwise as viewed from above, for example.
A means 11 for rearranging pieces in a staggered pattern and rotating the pieces is disposed over the position near the downstream end of the upstream conveyor 3 and the upstream end of the downstream conveyor 5. The means 11 are used for rearranging the pieces 9 of the food dough in a staggered pattern and simultaneously rotating the pieces 9 at 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise as viewed from above so that one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 is oriented toward the upstream side (direction “+X” shown in FIG. 1) of the direction for carrying the pieces 9, when the pieces 9 of each column are transferred from the upstream conveyor 3 to the downstream conveyor 5.
The means 11, for example, comprises a plurality of upstream rotating means 39A for rotating the pieces 9 of the odd-numbered rows (rows “C”) and a plurality of downstream rotating means 39B for rotating the pieces 9 of the even-numbered rows (rows “D”).
Below, the upstream means 39A and the downstream means 39B are explained.
Frames 13A, 13B having a box-like shape are disposed at each end of the area in the direction “Y,” which located near the point for connecting the upstream conveyor 3 and the downstream conveyor 5. Rotating axes 15A, 15B extending in the direction “X” are rotatably supported by means of a bracket 17 in the frames 13A, 13B, respectively. Cylindrical cams 19A, 19B are fixed to the rotating axes 15A, 15B, respectively. Further, disk-like cams 21A, 21B are fixed to the rotating axes 15A, 15B at the position apart from the end surfaces of cylindrical cams 19A, 19B, respectively. To achieve the synchronized rotation of the rotating axes 15A, 15B, bevel gears are disposed at the ends of the rotating axes 15A, 15B, respectively, which gears are engaged with the bevel gears fixed to an intermediate shaft 25 driven by a motor 23.
Based on the structure explained in the above paragraph, the rotation of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B and the disk-like cams 21A, 21B, which are disposed at the side end of the conveyors in the direction “Y,” can be synchronized with each other. The cylindrical cams 19A, 19B have the same structure, and have grooves 27A, 27B at their peripheral surface. The grooves 27A, 27B (not shown in the cylindrical cam 19A) substantially form a W-like shape (if the cylindrical cams is unrolled) having an identical phase.
Incidentally, for the grooves 27A, 27B of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B, the strokes in the direction “X” of the grooves 27A disposed at the upstream side (the direction “+X” in FIG. 1) of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B are less than those of the grooves 27B disposed at the downstream side (the direction “−X” in FIG. 1) of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B.
Thus, the cam followers 33, 35 that are engaged with the grooves 27A, 27B of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B, respectively, make two round trips while the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B are rotated one revolution. Further, the stroke of the cam followers 35 in the direction “X,” which followers 35 are engaged with the grooves 27B located at the downstream side, is greater than that of the cam followers 33 in the direction “X,” which followers 33 are engaged with the grooves 27A located at the upstream side.
An upstream-moving beam 29 and a downstream-moving beam 31 are disposed above the upstream and downstream conveyors 3, 5 and can freely move in the direction “X,” which beams 29, 31 extend in the direction “Y.” The cam followers 33, 35, which are fixed to both ends of the upstream and the downstream-moving beam 29, 31, in the direction “Y,” respectively, are engaged with the grooves 27A, 27B of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B.
The upstream and the downstream-moving beam 29, 31 are disposed on guiding members 37A, 37B (see FIG. 2), which are fixed to the frames 13A, 13B and extend in the direction “X,” and can freely move in the direction “X.”
Thus, when the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B are rotated, the upstream and the downstream-moving beam 29, 31 reciprocate in the direction “X” by means of the grooves 27A, 27B.
The plurality of upstream rotating means 39A, which rotate the pieces 9 of the odd-numbered rows (rows “C”) cut from the sheet 7 of the food dough, are disposed at the upstream-moving beam 29 with regular intervals in the direction “Y” and protrude toward the downstream side of the upstream-moving beam 29. Further, the plurality of downstream rotating means 39B, which rotate the pieces 9 of the even-numbered rows (rows “D”), are disposed at the downstream-moving beam 31 with regular intervals in the direction “Y” and protrude toward the upstream side of the downstream-moving beam 31. As shown in FIG. 1, at the time for starting the apparatus, the plurality of upstream rotating means 39A disposed at the upstream-moving beam 29 and the plurality of downstream rotating means 39B disposed at the downstream-moving beam 31 are aligned in the direction “Y” Since the upstream and the downstream rotating means 39A, 39B have the same structure and are symmetrically placed so that they are opposed to each other, only the downstream rotating means 39B are explained below. Namely, an explanation of the upstream rotating means 39A is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 3, the downstream rotating means 39B comprises a supporting bracket 41 disposed at the downstream-moving beam 31 so that the position of the supporting bracket 41 in the direction “Y” can be adjusted, and a hollow rotating shaft 43 that is vertically and rotatably disposed at the supporting bracket 41. An ejector plate 47 is fixed to the lower end of the hollow rotating shaft 43 by means of a bracket 45. To rotate the hollow rotating shaft 43, a male thread 49 is formed at the external surface of the hollow rotating shaft 43, and the male thread 49 is engaged with a female thread formed in a screw member 51. Namely, the screw member 51 can freely ascend and descend along the hollow rotating shaft 43.
Thus, if the screw member 51 ascends or descends along the hollow rotating shaft 43, the shaft 43 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise as viewed from above.
An ascending and descending beam 53 is disposed at the apparatus for lifting and lowering the screw member 51 so that the beam 53 can move upward and downward. The ascending and descending beam 53 has a supporting member 55 for holding the screw member 51 in an integrated fashion. The position of the supporting member 55 on the ascending and descending beam 53 is adjustable. In order to smoothly move the screw member 51 upward and downward along the hollow rotating shaft 43, the support member 55 has a rod 57 horizontally extending in the direction “X.” The distal end of the rod 57 is inserted within a slit, which is formed at a bracket 61 disposed at another ascending and descending beam 59 and which has a U-like shape so that the rods can freely move in the direction “X”.
The ascending and descending beam 59 holds the supporting member (not shown) for holding the screw member of the upstream rotating means 39A. Namely, the ascending and descending beam 59 corresponds to the ascending and descending beam 53 of the downstream rotating means 39B.
A rotating rod 63 is inserted within the hollow rotating shaft 43 so that the rotating rod can freely move upward and downward and can rotate together with the hollow rotating shaft 43. A pin-holding member 67 is fixed to the lower end of the rotating rod 63 in an integrated fashion. The pin-holding member 67 has a plurality of pins 65, which can stick the pieces 9 of the food dough. The upper end of the rotating rod 63 is fixed to an ascending and descending member 69 for moving the rotating rod 63 upward and downward. The ascending and descending member 69 is attached to an up-and-down-moving beam 71 extending in the direction “Y” so that the position of the ascending and descending member 69 in the direction “Y” can be adjustable.
Thus, by moving the up-and-down-moving beam 71 upward and downward, the pins 65 of the pin-holding member 67 can stick a piece 9 of food dough. Further, by moving the ascending and descending beam 53 upward and downward while the pins 65 stick the piece 9 of the food dough, since both the hollow rotating shaft 43 and the rotating rod 63 can be clockwise or counterclockwise rotated, the pieces 9 of the food dough can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise as viewed from above. Thus, the pieces 9 of each column (columns “A” and “B”) that are cut from the sheet of the food dough 7 can be rotated so that one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 is oriented toward the upstream side (direction “+X” shown in FIG. 1) of the direction for carrying the sheet 7.
The ascending and descending beam 53 can move in the direction “X” together with the downstream-moving beam 31 by means of the hollow rotating shaft 43 and the supporting member 55. The ascending and descending beams 53, 59 can also ascend and descend in response to the positions of the upstream-moving beam 29 and the downstream-moving beam 31 in the direction “X.”
Below, that mechanism is explained in more detail. Both ends of the ascending and descending beams 53, 59 are supported by supporting shafts 73 (shown in FIG. 2) so that the beams 53, 59 can freely move in the direction “X.” The supporting shafts 73 are disposed in each frame 13A, 13B, which are placed at both sides of the apparatus, extend in the direction “X,” and can freely move upward and downward. To move the supporting shafts 73 upward and downward, both ends of the respective supporting shafts 73 in the direction “X” are supported by ascending and descending brackets 75. Further, both ends of the respective ascending and descending brackets 75 are rotatably connected to distal ends of swinging links 77, which can freely swing in the vertical plane, by means of supporting links.
The swinging links 77 are supported by swinging arms 81 so that the links 77 can freely move in the longitudinal direction. The swinging arms 81, which can freely swing in the vertical plane, are rotatably supported by protruding members 79 fixed to the frames 13A, 13B. A cam follower 83 is disposed at the intermediate portion of each swinging link 77. The respective cam followers 83 are engaged with the grooves (not shown) disposed at one side surface of the disk-like cams 21A, 21B. Thus, when the disk-like cams 21A, 21B rotate together with the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B, since the swinging links 77 swing in the vertical plane, the supporting shafts 73 are moved upward and downward. Thus, the ascending and descending beams 53, 59 ascend and descend in response to the positions of the upstream and downstream-moving beam 29, 31 in the direction “X.”
The up-and-down-moving beams 71, 71A of the downstream and the upstream rotating means 39B, 39A move together with the downstream and the upstream-moving beam 31, 29 in the direction “X,” respectively. Further, the up-and-down-moving beams 71, 71A move upward and downward in response to the positions of the upstream and the downstream-moving beam 29, 31 in the direction “X.” Namely, both ends of the up-and-down-moving beams 71, 71A in the direction “Y” are connected to supporting shafts 84 (shown in FIG. 2) so that the beams 71, 71A can freely move in the direction “X.” The respective supporting shafts 84 extend in the direction “X” and are disposed in the frame 13A, 13B so that the shafts 84 can freely move upward and downward.
Both ends of the respective supporting shafts 84 in the direction “X” are supported by ascending and descending brackets 85. Further, both ends of the respective ascending and descending brackets 85 are rotatably connected to distal ends of swinging links 87, which can freely swing in the vertical plane, by means of supporting links. The swinging links 87 are rotatably supported by protruding members 89 fixed to the frames 13A, 13B. A cam follower 91 is disposed at the intermediate portion of each swinging link 87. The respective cam followers 91 are engaged with the grooves (not shown) disposed at the other side surface of the disk-like cams 21A, 21B. Thus, when the disk-like cams 21A, 21B rotate together with the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B, since the up-and-down-moving beams 71, 71A move upward and downward by means of the swinging links 87, the rotating rods 63 of the upstream and the downstream rotating means 39A, 39B are moved upward and downward. Thus, the rotating rods 63 ascend and descend in response to the positions of the upstream and downstream-moving beam 29, 31 in the direction “X.”
Below, the operation of the conventional apparatus 1 for spacing and aligning pieces of food dough, which has the configuration explained in the above paragraphs, is explained based on FIGS. 1-3 and 11.
FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a time-chart for explaining the movement of the main parts of the conventional apparatus 1 for spacing and aligning the pieces of the food dough. In FIG. 11, (1) the movement of the upstream-moving beam 29 in the direction “X,” (2) the movement of the downstream-moving beam 31 in the direction “X,” (3) the angle of the rotation of the pin-holding member 67, and (4) the vertical movement of the pin-holding member 67, are shown as a function of the angles of the rotation of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B and the disk-like cams 21A, 21B.
At the time for starting the apparatus (this means that the angles of the rotation of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B and the disk-like cams 21A, 21B are “0” degree), as shown in FIG. 1, the upstream rotating means 39A and the downstream rotating means 39B are aligned in the direction “Y.” When the rotating axes 15A, 15B start to rotate by means of the motor 23, the up-and-down-moving beams 71, 71A begin to descend from the position at the upper end, and then the pins 65 of the pin-holding member 67 stick the pieces 9 of the food dough of the column “A” that are aligned in the direction “Y,” just before the pieces 9 of the food dough of the column “A” are transferred from the upstream conveyor 3 to the downstream conveyor 5. Namely, as shown in FIG. 11, the pin-holding members 67 descend from the position at the upper end to the position at the lower end. When the rotating axes 15A, 15B further rotate, the upstream-moving beam 29 and the downstream-moving beam 31 gradually move downstream in the direction “X” (left side in FIG. 1) by means of the action of the grooves 27A, 27B formed on the side surface of the cylindrical cams 19A, 19B.
Then, since the inclination of the grooves 27A differs from that of the grooves 27B, the downstream-moving beam 31 moves downstream faster than the upstream-moving beam 29. Namely, as shown in FIG. 11, the stroke of the movement of the downstream-moving beam 31 in the direction “X” is greater than that of the upstream-moving beam 29. Thus, the pieces 9 of the food dough that are aligned in the direction “Y” are placed on the downstream conveyor 5 in a staggered pattern. Further, as explained in the above paragraph, when the upstream and the downstream-moving beam 29, 31 move downstream, since the ascending and descending beams 53, 59 ascend from the position at the lower end to the middle position at the vertical stroke of the beams 53, 59, the hollow rotating shafts 43 and the rotating rods 63 rotate clockwise. Thus, the pieces 9 of the food dough also rotate clockwise (namely, the rotating axes 15A, 15B rotate for ¼ revolution). Namely, the pieces 9 of the food dough that are transferred to the downstream conveyor 5 are rearranged in a staggered pattern. Simultaneously, the pieces 9 of the food dough are aligned so that one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 is oriented toward the upstream side (direction “+X” shown in FIG. 1) of the direction for carrying the pieces 9. At that time, as shown in FIG. 11, the pin-holding members 67, which are disposed on the upstream and downstream-moving beam 29, 31, rotate the pieces 9 clockwise at 90 degrees as viewed from above, while the pin-holding members 67 rotate from the position at “−90” degrees to the position at “0” degree (middle position).
Then, when the rotating axes 15A, 15B are further rotated, the rotating rods 63 ascend, and simultaneously the upstream and downstream-moving beams 29, 31 return to the initial position. Namely, the apparatus 1 is ready for handling the pieces 9 of the food dough of the column “B” adjacent to the column “A.” The directions of the pieces 9 in column “B” are opposite to those of the pieces 9 in column “B.” Thus, when the upstream and downstream-moving beams 29, 31 return to the initial position, the ascending and descending beams 53, 59 further ascend so that the beams 53, 59 move from the middle position to the upper end position. Thus, the rotating rods 63 are rotated clockwise to 180 degrees as viewed from above (namely, the rotating axes 15A, 15B rotate for 2/4 revolution). At that time, as shown in FIG. 11, the pin-holding members 67, which are disposed on the upstream and downstream-moving beam 29, 31, rotate clockwise from the position at “0” degree (middle position) to the position at “+90” degrees as viewed from above, while the pin-holding members 67 do not hold the pieces 9.
Next, when the rotating axes 15A, 15B are further rotated, the upstream and downstream-moving beams 29, 31 and the up-and-down-moving beams 71, 71A are moved as explained in the above paragraphs. Thus, the pieces 9 of the food dough of the column “B” are rearranged on the downstream conveyor 5 in a staggered pattern. At that time, the ascending and descending beams 53, 59 descend from the upper end position to the middle position. Thus, since the rotating rods 63 rotate counterclockwise as viewed from above, the pieces 9 are also rotated counterclockwise at 90 degrees, which are the opposite directions during the operations explained in the above paragraphs. Consequently, the pieces 9 of the food dough that are transferred to the downstream conveyor and are rearranged in a staggered pattern are aligned so that one of the apexes of the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9 is oriented toward the upstream side (direction “+X” shown in FIG. 1) of the direction for carrying the pieces 9 (namely, the rotating axes 15A, 15B rotate for ¾ revolution). At that time, as shown in FIG. 11, the pin-holding members 67, which are disposed on the upstream and downstream-moving beams 29, 31, rotate the pieces 9 counterclockwise at 90 degrees as viewed from above, while the pin-holding members 67 rotate from the position at “+90” degrees to the position at “0” degree (middle position).
Then, when the rotating axes 15A, 15B are further rotated, namely, when they rotate one revolution, all elements return to the initial positions. At that time, as shown in FIG. 11, the pin-holding members 67, which are disposed on the upstream and downstream-moving beam 29, 31, rotate counterclockwise from the position at “0” degree (middle position) to the position at “−90” degrees as viewed from above, while the pin-holding members 67 do not hold the pieces 9.
The plurality of pins 65 of the pin-holding members 67 of the upstream and the downstream rotating means 39A, 39B of the conventional apparatus 1 are arranged within the area having a triangular-like-shape corresponding to the triangular-like-shaped pieces 9. Thus, for example, to rotate counterclockwise as viewed from above the pieces 9 of the column “B” after rotating clockwise the pieces 9 of the column “A” at 90 degrees, it is necessary that the pin-holding members 67 and the rotating rods 63 further be rotated clockwise as viewed from above at 90 degrees so that they are positioned at “+180” degrees. After rotating counterclockwise at 90 degrees the pieces 9, to handle the pieces 9 of the following column “A,” it is necessary that the rotating rods 63 further be rotated counterclockwise as viewed from above at 90 degrees so that they are positioned at the “0” degree, which corresponds to the initial position.
Thus, the problem of the conventional apparatus is such that there are many unnecessary movements in the operation of the apparatus. Namely, it is necessary to design the apparatus so that the grooves 27A, 27B of the disk-like cam 21A, 21B have the shapes that can intermittently rotate the pin-holding members 67 among the positions at “−90,” “0,” “+90,” “0,” and “−90,” degrees, which grooves 27A, 27B are used for moving the ascending and descending beams 53, 59 upward and downward to rotate the rotating rods 63 and the pin-holding members 67. Thus, the problem is such that the shapes of the grooves 27A, 27B are complicated. To rotate the pin-holding members 67 to position them at the respective positions, the ascending and descending beams 53, 59 must move at a high acceleration. Thus, the problem is such that a mechanical vibration is likely to be caused.
Namely, to improve the productivity of the apparatus, if the speed of the operation of the apparatus increases by rotating the rotating axes 15A, 15B at a high speed, a mechanical vibration is likely to be caused, because the shapes of the grooves 27A, 27B are complicated.
When the rotating rods 63 and the pin-holding members 67 are rotated by means of a linear-motion-type actuator, such as an air cylinder, instead of the disk-like cam 21A, 21B, it is necessary to rotate the rotating rods 63 clockwise and counterclockwise among the positions at “−90,” “0,” and “+90” degrees, and further to precisely determine the positions of the rotating rods 63 with an interval of 90 degrees. Further, to rotate the rotating rods 63, an actuator having a long stroke is required.
Further, when the rotating rods 63 and the pin-holding members 67 are rotated by means of a rotary actuator, it is necessary to rotate the rotating rods 63 clockwise and counterclockwise among the positions at “−90,” “0,” and “+90” degrees, and, further, to precisely determine the positions of the rotating rods 63 with an interval of 90 degrees.